The Nebraska Cornhuskers beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 20-17 victory on Thursday. There are a couple lessons UCLA can take from its fellow Big Ten team’s win to help the Bruins defeat the Utah Utes in Week 1.
UCLA’s season opener is also a late night home opener at the Rose Bowl against Utah, which gives DeShaun Foster and his coaching staff plenty of time to push these four main points into the Bruins as they march back into our lives.
Stars need to shine bright
The Cornhuskers star sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola showed up in the season opener. He passed the rock 42 times and completed 33 of them for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns, according to ESPN. The Bruins acquired redshirt sophomore quarteback Nico Iamaleava from the Tennessee Volunteers and they need their young signal caller to show why he was special for the Vols. He doesn’t need to pass the rock 42 times (if he does, that would be a shocker of its own), but he does need to show why he was a playoff quarterback. He’s a dual threat weapon and he needs to play like it.
Protect the rock at all costs
The reason why the Bearcats lost the game was because they didn’t protect their most prized possession: the football. They turned the ball over twice and one of them was a deep shot from their junior quarterback Brendan Sorsby down the right sideline to junior wide receiver Caleb Goodie. Nebraska senior defensive back Malcom Hartzog Jr. picked it off in the end zone for the win. Although the Cornhuskers won, they also had two fumbles, but they were recovered by their teammates. They got lucky and you never want to put the game up to chance. The Bruins need to secure the rock and not give the Utes any chances.
Play the game at your pace
As much as we all love to see touchdowns scored, sometimes the game is best played at a slower pace. The Cornhuskers and Bearcats put up a total of 40 points in their game, which is definitely a decent amount, but when looking at their time of possession, the difference between the two is shocking. According to ESPN, Nebraska had the possession of the ball for 39-minutes and 30-seconds, compared to Cincinnati’s 20-minutes and 30-seconds possession time. That is nearly double the amount of possession time and the Bruins need to take not. Control the game and force the Utes to play catch up.
Defense needs to be a goldfish
From the show “Ted Lasso,” the titular character says that goldfish can’t remember what just happened to them. The Bruins need to do the same. Sorsby was routinely able to move the ball with his legs when he need to, but the Bearcats offense struggled to score. Why? Even though the Cornhuskers defense would make mistakes, they would never let the previous play effect the next play. Remember the game winning interception? Hartzog Jr. was called for a penalty the play before, but he made it up for it immediately after. With that mindset, any defense could make any play at any time and that includes the Bruins’ when they face off against the Utes.
Offensive line
UCLA needs an offensive line which can take pressure off the quarterback. Nebraska’s offensive line gave Dylan Raiola enough time to find receivers and occasionally scramble, but the Husker line did not dominate in such a way that the game became easy. UCLA’s offensive line has to help Nico Iamaleava. The quarterback can’t do it himself — not at Nebraska, and not at UCLA.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: What can UCLA learn from Nebraska after seeing Huskers struggle against Cincinnati?
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
